Heat of Passion [Hardcover]

Harold Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Win Liberte has it all. He prides himself on never having worked a day in his life. He has everything he wants-fast cars, beautiful women, a racing yacht, a penthouse in Manhattan. Orphaned at eleven, Win inherited an international diamond business that is managed by his uncle.
Then Win loses it all when his uncle commits suicide after investing all of Win's money in a scheme that fails. His single remaining asset is a bankrupt diamond mine in Angola, a steaming, war-ravaged country in equatorial Africa.
In the blood and muck of central Africa, Win experiences the "Diamond Curse" first hand. Battles over Angola's vast wealth in gems occur daily, and fights for control of the diamond industry have wiped out generations. Thriving on the challenge, Win founds an international diamond business that challenges a powerful cartel's stranglehold on the market.
Loved by two women-a movie goddess who sears men's souls and a dedicated UN worker who risks her life in Africa-Win doesn't find anything worth living for until he loses love.
From the tunnels of the diamond mine to the stage at the Academy Awards, from the beds of beautiful women to a battle with warlords, Win has to fight to get back everything he ever wanted.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Maybe next time around, Robbins's anonymous ghostwriter will get jacket credit-he or she certainly deserves a little recognition for this latest posthumous production, a sprawling, sparkling international romp featuring the diamond industry. Win Liberte is the trust-fund playboy son of a prominent jeweler whose cash flow dries up when his late father's uncle gambles away the family fortune. After breaking off a relationship with his supermodel girlfriend, Liberte journeys to Africa to try to resurrect the last bit of his legacy, a foundering diamond mine in Angola. The Angola chapters are crisp and propulsive, as Liberte battles a corrupt mine manager and the local strongman in a war-torn country to restore the facility and discover why a supposedly dry mine has been put up for sale. The tail end of that subplot also features some cat-and-mouse chase scenes in which Liberte squares off against a Portuguese rival of his father's for possession of a priceless red diamond known as the "Heart of the World." The story loses momentum after Liberte returns to America to try to reestablish the family diamond house, but despite the slow stretches, this is first-rate Robbins from start to finish. Dashing if improbable adventures alternate with libido-laced sex scenes; in a romantic subplot, Liberte courts academic humanitarian Marni Jones, who is distributing food in Angola. The swashbuckling but self-effacing Liberte is a prototypical Robbins creation, and the details about the diamond industry give this novel more depth than usual; there is a chilling reference to a Saudi billionaire and potential diamond buyer named Osama bin Laden. Robbins's literary legacy remains very much alive, and his thousands of fans should experience a pleasant sense of deja vu as they race through this latest installment.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

If you've been holding your breath waiting for another entry in the Robbins' oeuvre, this is your lucky day. The deceased yet still prolific author (actually a ghostwriter working with ideas Robbins left behind) has released yet another of the author's trademark contemporary soft-core porn novels. In this one, we meet Win Liberte, a spoiled rich guy (and babe magnet) who inherited his family's diamond company at the age of 11 and who prides himself on having never worked a day in his life. Unfortunately for Win, his trusted investment banker has been making lots of bad decisions lately, and our rich playboy soon finds himself flat broke and with only a bankrupt diamond mine in Africa to his name. The real meat of the story is in his climb back up the golden ladder, which means traveling to Angola to get the old diamond mine up and running, and despite immense difficulties, regaining his wealth and this time a work ethic to go along with it. This novel contains much of Robbins' characteristic smut, including studly older men who have an unexplained magnetism for sexy young women, and young women who have nothing on their minds but sex and money. This book mirrors Robbins' style fairly well, and since he probably still has some readers lurking about, librarians may want to pick up a copy. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765300028
• ISBN-13: 978-0765300027
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,868,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, March 10, 2005

By 

Julie L. Willmore - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heat of Passion (Hardcover)

I have never read Robbins before but I enjoyed this book because it was a pleasant, fun and easy read. This is not a book I would read a second time but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read something that isnt too taxing on the old brain cells.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Read!, November 12, 2003

By 

S. D. Ramos "sienagal" (San Leandro, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heat of Passion (Hardcover)

Reading this book is almost watching a tv-movie. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll turn into one. I enjoy the way it was written, whoever the ghost writer is. I believe that even Mr. Robbins left this idea/plot of the story - It will of course goes down how it was written and the way it came out.

3 Stars!

Shirley (San Leandro, CA)